Popularity Growth of Baseball in Africa

Dating back to the world’s famous baseball black players like Jackie Robinson, Cliff Johnson, and Roseboro just to mention a few, baseball has not been left out in the African continent. Even though the world is not eying on the baseball growth in the black continent, several bloggers have given a few countries credit on what they refer as the ‘appetite for baseball in Africa’. South Africa and Uganda are some of the leading countries embracing baseball in colleges and high schools.

According to coaches and the Head of Departments of Games in various institutions in the two African countries, baseball is constantly getting popular and players like it. This is a clear indication that the game may spread even to other African countries over the years. Most African schools prefer playing soccer even though it has not yet grown as anticipated. However, this is different in some schools in Kampala, Uganda. The students in those schools are ever practicing the foreign American game – baseball game.

One of the schools’ founders was reported saying that baseball is their main game. Surprisingly, even the girls are becoming active in the game because boys are perfectly doing it. Even though baseball is rarely played in Africa, Uganda seems to be a leading country where baseball is catching on very fast. South Africa is also launching pad for baseball’s entry into the soccer-dominated country.

Health Benefits of Playing Baseball Game

Many disease control and prevention associations in various countries are recommending baseball game as one of the good ways of getting moderate and vigorous exercise. Baseball game exercises different body muscles particularly the arms, thighs, and legs. It is also ideal for eye coordination and fast thinking, as well as improving one’s action and reaction skills.

Nowadays African countries have been taking baseball as one of their major games to boost body exercise. Of course, everyone in the world is putting effort to stay fit and healthy. That’s why colleges and high schools in Africa are taking baseball games seriously in order to improve the health of their students, as well as make the game popular across the soccer-dominated continent.

When students meet at a competition tournament, they will make new friends. They will also exercise vigorously, and thus get a natural dose of fitness. Baseball games involve running, throwing, and swinging baseball bats. All these exercises offer a wonderful cardiovascular and strength to the body, as well as burning several calories.

Cardiovascular training

The baseball game will make your heart pump faster and the body to sweat. The heart muscles will strengthen, hence improving your lung capacity. During running and catching, you are already doing the recommended cardiovascular exercise. It is an ideal game, especially when exposed to young ones because they will love it and continue playing even at their older age.

Strengthen the arms

When players are swinging their baseball bats, they are giving their arms power. Throwing and catching are also other good ways to strengthen the arms and joints. All the muscles of the arms are involved including the triceps and biceps, as well as shoulder and chest muscles. The twisting motions give the shoulders a good workout, thus enhancing the power of your overall arms. You have to choose the right baseball bat for yourself.

Strengthening the legs

When playing a baseball game, the muscles in your legs are recruited into the exercise. The lateral moving, throwing, squatting and retrieving the ball engages your quadriceps, calf, and hamstring muscles. Running offers double health benefits by building the leg muscles and providing the required cardiovascular workout. Even those short bursts of running and resting for a few seconds help the muscles to recover after every exertion. Also, catchers squat often, hence building their leg muscles.

Burning calories

Several clinical studies show that an individual weighing about 160 pounds can get rid of 365 calories through playing baseball. This means the more a person weighs, the more he or she will burn calories when playing baseball. Physical exercise also boosts metabolic rate, making the body to burn more calories faster and reduce fats. Also, baseball training involves a lot of running and swinging throughout, and therefore a player is likely to lose more calories in the process.